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Case Reports
Transdiaphragmatic repositioning of the heart in the setting of emergency laparotomy after blunt trauma.
- Rainer Gumpert, Sylvia Archan, Veronika Matzi, and Freyja-Maria Smolle-Jüttner.
- Department of Trauma Surgery, Medical University of Graz, 8036 Graz, Austria.
- Am J Emerg Med. 2009 Oct 1; 27 (8): 1024.e1-2.
AbstractCardiac luxation after blunt trauma is a rare condition that carries a high mortality rate. We report a case of a left pericardial rupture with partial dislocation of the heart into the left pleural cavity and cardiac strangulation in a polytraumatized patient after a severe motor vehicle accident. This case is of special interest because the patient not only had cardiovascular compromise but was also actually in cardiac arrest and being resuscitated when an emergency repositioning of the heart through the diaphragm in the setting of damage control laparotomy restored circulation. This report stresses the need for a high index of suspicion for accurate early diagnosis of pericardial rupture.
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